It's another Monday here at Short Pause, so that can only mean one thing... time for another edition of the Musings! Your excitement is palpable (I can feel it from here), so let's not delay any further. On with the ramblings I say!

As the smoke from GDC dissipates into the atmosphere, the Project Morpheus reveal continues to be the talk of the town.We mused about this last week (here), but it's worth mentioning again how exciting the prospects of real life living room VR really are.Gamers are excited at the prospects of new gameplay experiences with never before seen levels of immersion. Developers, both big and small, are excited to create these new experiences and experiment with a new toy in their sand box.Guys like The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann are tweeting out that with Project Morpheus, "you can make the ultimate horror game."I know Oculus Rift is out there as well at the forefront of the VR frontier, but you have to believe that with the resources they possess, and the heritage of technological excellence and innovation, that if anyone can make VR a viable consumer option, it's Sony.Now, let's get this tech into EA's hands so they can get started on that first-person VR lightsaber/X-Wing game we've always wanted...

And I REALLY want to test that EVE: Valkyrie demo. I'm a sucker for dogfights in space...

This past week saw the official unveiling of the next Assassin's Creed game (well, at least one of them if rumors are to be believed), Assassin's Creed: Unity. Check out the teaser trailer.

Apparently, this is alpha footage released to the wild due to recent game leaks. Boy, if this is alpha footage, what's the final (omega?) footage going to look like? This game is only targeting next-gen platforms, as the rumored second Assassin's game, codenamed Comet, is supposedly only being developed for PS3/360, and if this early footage is any indication of the graphical fidelity in store for this game, this is going to look stunning. I'm loving the new setting as well. Assassin tomfoolery in Revolution-era Paris? Yes, please. I guess I better fire up Black Flag at some point in the near future...

Let's talk sales for a minute. While we've yet to hear anything definitive in terms of US sales numbers, we do know that Titanfallsignificantly spiked Xbox One sales in the UK upon its arrival. Sales of the Xbox One console rose 96% over the previous week's total following the arrival of Respawn's blockbuster shooter. Unofficially, sales in the US appear to be following a similar line. So what does this all mean? Not much, as apparently it's now being reported that inFAMOUS: Second Son has caused PS4 sales in the UK to double! Seeing as how the PS4 was already outselling the XBox One in the UK at a clip of approximately 1.5:1, this would lead one to conclude that the PS4 saw even bigger gains from the release of inFAMOUS than the XB1 did from the release of Titanfall. What does this all mean, now? Still nothing. The bottom line is, owners and prospective owners of the next-gen (when is it ok for me to say current gen?) consoles are excited about the first two really big AAA titles for their respective systems of choice. And regardless of whatever price-cut or promotion is currently running, the PS4 is still the cheaper and more powerful option, and that's a strong selling pitch to the average consumer...

I've got some anecdotal evidence that the PS4 continues to sell like hotcakes. I was at Target recently, as I often am buying who knows what for around the house, and I stopped by the gaming department to take a quick peak around. I noticed that Target was carrying a Limited Edition steelbook of the new Thief game from Eidos Montreal, at which point my gaming OCD kicked in and I decided on a whim I needed this in my collection (more on this momentarily). I asked the employee there if he could open the case for me in order for me to purchase a game. I told him I wanted to pick up the new Thief game and he proceeded to ask for what system. I told him PS4. "PS4? Wow, you were able to get one?" Mind you, this is more than four months after the system has launched at this point. I shoot the breeze with the Target employee for a minute and he explains to me that they can't keep the PS4 in stock, relishing me with tales of obsessive phone calls and customers pursuing the system with an almost stalker level of determination. Looking down, I see a few Xbox Ones in the display case. I take my purchase and head off on my merry way...

"The bottom line is, owners and prospective owners of the next-gen (when is it ok for me to say current gen?) consoles are excited about the first two really big AAA titles for their respective systems of choice."

Side-tangent alert: Gamer OCD. Do you suffer from it? Here's the thing, something inside of me has this inherent, burning desire to collect. Not some weird hoarding type of thing either, but a yearning to collect things I'm interested in. Sort of a tangible representation of my dedication to my hobbies, I guess you could say. It's almost like I'm trying to say, "Hey, look what I accomplished! I collected all these games!" Collector's editions, limited editions, statues, steelbooks, limited DLC... you name it, I'm probably compelled to seek it out for my gaming collection. So back to the Thief example I just alluded to. At the time I had walked into Target, I knew nothing about the steelbook edition of Thief they had available. At this point, I've already purchased Thief from my local Best Buy, with my Gamer's Club Unlocked discount to boot! Perusing the game section at Target, I'm faced with a dilemma. Buy this game a second time to feebly attempt to satiate my insatiable need to collect? Or just move on with my life and forget I ever saw the thing? I attempted the latter, moving several paces or so down the main aisle en route to the checkout lanes. But, lo and behold, my inner collector got the best of me. I bought that second copy of Thief and I happily glance at the steelbook case on my shelf when looking through my game room. That first copy of Thief I bought had future eBay product written all over it, and my inner collector was happy for the time being. Such is my mania...

More anecdotal PS4 sales evidence: This past week I checked a few stores in the area looking for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. I didn't have it reserved, and I was a little late getting out to the store this week, but I didn't think it would be a problem to walk into Best Buy and pick up a copy. Nope. Completely sold out of the PS4 version. PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One versions fully locked, loaded, and ready for consumption. They were sold out of Frozen too, but that's another issue. I also noticed Xbox Ones (Titanfall editions) lining the upper shelves. I believe at this time they had recently received a shipment of PS4s as well, and had one left on the counter behind the customer service desk. So I decided to check a second Best Buy. Same deal. No MGS on PS4. Xbox Ones in stock. No PS4s in site. I checked all the Best Buys in my area and not one single location had a copy of Ground Zeroes on PS4. For that matter, their online store was sold out, too! Just for clarity, remember that I'm attempting to get this game from Best Buy so I can use my Gamer's Club Unlocked discount. Just for the hell of it, I checked Target and a Wal-Mart in my area too. No Ground Zeroes for PS4 here, either. This game has either been seriously underproduced for the PS4, or it's just selling like hotcakes. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. The other point to all this? Xbox Ones are plentiful in stock everywhere. I saw them at all of the locations I checked, with the exception of maybe one. I was lucky if I came across a store with one PS4. The PlayStation 4 stock problems are real. People are hungry for this system, and the next-gen in general, and I gotta believe that Microsoft is benefiting at least a little from the PS4 stock issues. With supplies not expected to meet demand until summer now, we won't really know for sure how this next-gen race is shaping up until later in the year...

"The PS4 is the cheaper, more powerful option for consumers when it comes to next-gen consoles. Doesn't that sound appealing to you as a buyer?"

I'll say this one more time. The PS4 is the cheaper, more powerful option for consumers when it comes to next-gen consoles. Doesn't that sound appealing to you as a buyer? Just from an anecdotal perspective, the demand for PS4 is real and the stock is unable to keep up. This thing is a runaway hit...

In a maddening fit of fate, my weekend did not work out as planned and I've yet to fully immerse myself in my most anticipated game of the year, inFAMOUS: Second Son. There is always this week, right? Sigh...

Thankfully, the tidal wave of games hitting in March is finally reaching its tail end. I'm going to need a break so I can catch up on all the games that came out this month. I've yet to put in significant time with Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition, Towerfall: Ascension, Awesomenauts: Assemble, the aforementioned inFAMOUS: Seond Son, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes,Dark Souls II, and you get the idea. Also, a little game I've been waiting to hit PlayStation platforms by the name of Fez finally hits tomorrow. It's really a spectacular time to be a gamer...

Now that inFAMOUS: Second Son is out in the wild, it's time to start counting down to something else....